


Our little rag-tag family

by Multifandom_damnation



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Gen, I used that word once, I used the reference of someones art on tumblr, I'm very sorry, It was also written in response to a fic, It's basically family bonding time, Jack is only mentioned, There is mention of violence, i wrote this instead of doing homework, so don't get mad at me for calling angel "chubby", this is presequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-05
Updated: 2017-10-05
Packaged: 2019-01-09 07:00:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12271311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Multifandom_damnation/pseuds/Multifandom_damnation
Summary: The van breaks down and an annoyed Nisha is trying to fix it, much to Athena's amusement, who is only trying to HELP, Nisha. Tim and Angel spend some time bonding and Angel realises that family is more than just blood.(set in the AU of Purple, Effervescing, Sick by fashionablesnider. It's really good and much better than this, I suggest you go check it out!!)





	Our little rag-tag family

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fashionablesnider](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fashionablesnider/gifts).



> So, this is a birthday gift for fashionablesnider!! I love you and hope this is good enough. Everyone else, I have never played Borderlands and the only thing I know is through them, so if there are some things wrong (I know there will be) I’m sorry. You probably won’t have to put up with me butchering your fandom until this time next year! Thanks Zin for editing this piece of shit xx

Tim gazed out at the pink and purple sunset of Pandora’s sky, somewhat ruined by the huge billboard of “Handsome” Jack’s face.

Sand spread before him in rolling hills of dusty gold, rocks jutting up like black blemishes in the skin of the earth and overgrown weeds dotted the landscape like scars. When Tim flexed his toes, he could feel the warm grains of sand stuck between them.

Grumbled cursing was emanating from behind him, Nisha’s attempts to restart the engine of their little van obviously unsuccessful.

Happy to silently sit in the sun, Tim decided that any help he might try and give would only result in a more annoyed Nisha and tension for the rest of the trip. He had taken his jacket off and laid it on the sand to sit on, so as to not fill the van with sand.

The sunset cast his shadow behind him, hiding the shape of the body that wasn’t his. He didn’t mind, shadows hid his face anyway.

A sigh came from behind him, and he half-turned to look at the new approaches. “Nisha,” Athena sighed, letting go of Angel’s hand and making her way to lean against the van. “Are you  _sure_  you don’t need any help?”

“Yes, Athena.” Nisha ground out through grit teeth as she jabbed a wrench into seemingly random places. “I’m sure. I was sure the first 50 times you asked me, and I’ll be sure for the  _next_  50 times.”

Tim didn’t even have to turn around to know Athena’s head was in her hands.

“I’m just asking, Nisha.” She rubbed her temple, and a burst of exhaust erupted from the engine. “No need to get crabby. I’m only trying to help.”

“Well, the only way you could possibly help is if you found the stuff I need to fix this thing.”

“Of course I found it.”

Jingling, metal scraping against metal, and Athena handing something to Nisha, who still had her head stuck inside the bonnet, an impatiently waiting hand outstretched.

“What did you need it for anyway?”

“Haven’t decided yet.” Nisha grunted, tugging a wire out. “But I know I’ll need it eventually. It depends on what needs fixing first.”

“You’re a nightmare.”

Turning away from the sun, Tim spied Angel standing a few feet away, watching the scene unfold. She was twiddling a piece of scrap between her palms and making patterns in the sand with her new boots.

“Angel,” he called softly, patting the space on his jacket next to him. “Come sit with me.”

Tentatively, Angel dragged her feet over to where Tim was sitting and sat a little bit away from him on her knees.

Not wanting to push her, Tim sat quietly and folded his hands in his lap. “Nice night,” he said, watching the sun slowly slink lower behind the horizon, and the moon rise into the cooling night air. Slowly, silently, Angel moved to sit next to him on the jacket cross-legged, placing her head on his shoulder.

 _Probably so she doesn’t have to see my face_  Tim thought sadly and threaded his fingers through her hair.  _His face. I wouldn’t either._

“Where did you go off to?” He asked, rubbing his thumb up and down her arm.

She lifted her arm to point a chubby finger at a large rock towards the edge of the horizon. It was the size of a small mountain, and Tim could see the wreckage of a ship poking out from behind it. He wondered what had happened to its passengers.

“There were really weird plants.” She near-whispered, lowering her hand and pulling strings out of the hem of her shirt. It was caked in mud and grime. “They were glowing. And moving.”

“Yeah, plants on this planet seem to do that.” Tim agreed.

Loud clanging erupted from behind them, and Angel lifted her head to look back at Nisha, whose hands were drenched in motor oil. She had a screwdriver in her mouth and was shuffling to pick up the wrench that had fallen to the bottom of the hood.

“I told you that would happen.” Was Athena’s aloof reply, crossing her arms and legs as she held items for Nisha.

“Well, what’s your bright idea, oh  _glorious_  mother?” Nisha snapped, banging her head on the edge of the bonnet as she angrily looked up to glare at Athena. She scowled at the sheet of metal as if it had personally offended her. With Nisha, it probably had.

“Take a break and get back to it when you’ve calmed down?” Athena suggested.

“That’s a terrible idea.”

“Then why did you ask for it?”

“I didn’t think it would be  _that_  bad.”

Angel turned back around and picked up a rock, tossing it from palm to palm before pulling her arm back and pitching it across the sand. Clouds of dust obscured its path as it skipped across the dunes.

On Tim’s right, a pile of stones was gathered, and he put them in front of Angel. “I bet I can throw farther than you.” He boasted with a wink.

Angel grinned, accepting the challenge, and picked up a rock.

A blast exploded from directly behind them, warm wetness splattered over them like pellets. Both Tim and Angel spun around, Tim with his gun, Angel with the rock raised high above her head.

A skag lay dead on the ground, blood seeping into the sand and limbs twitching like a puppet on a string. Nisha had both her arms out, pistol in hands, barrel still smoking. Her eyes were like ice, calculated and solid, as she shifted her gaze from the skag to Tim and back again.

“Really, Timothy?” Athena chided gently. Nisha lowered her gun and holstered it. “I know you’re tired, but maybe be more aware. It almost bit your head off,  _then_  where would you be?”

Tim winced “Sorry Athena.” A side-eyed look at a grumbling Nisha. “Sorry, Nisha. I’ll pay more attention.”

“Don’t fret.” Nisha sighed, turned back to her engine work, and began unscrewing a cap with her grease-slicked fingers. “It was a quiet one, and you were talking. You probably couldn’t hear it. But just remember- “

“I owe you the next one?” Tim guessed

“I was going to say ‘get your head out of your ass’, but that works too.”

“It’s a deal.”

Athena handed a torn piece of cloth to Nisha, who took it and used it to wipe her hands then the equipment. Her fingers were stained black and there was oil caked under her nails. Nisha didn’t seem to notice, or maybe just didn’t care.

Settling back down, Tim noted that the sun was almost hidden in darkness, nothing but the faint remains of the warm night that once was. “Hopefully Nisha will get the van going soon,” he remarked to Angel who was staring intently at her lap. “It’s getting dark. Maybe we can make a campfire and roast marshmallows. That would be fun, wouldn’t it?”

“Mhm” was the sound Angel made, too wrapped up in her thinking to form actual words. She looked like she wanted to ask something, but was thinking better of it.

“You know you can ask me anything Angel,” Tim whispered, brushing her fringe out of her face. “I promise I won’t be mad.”

Angel threaded her fingers, knotting them together, nervousness settling into her bones and making her body shake. “Does it- “she began, breathing deeply. “Does it ever hurt? Anymore?”

“Does what hurt?” Tim asked, confused. He was shot a few days ago, the bullet burrowing deep into his arm, but that hadn’t been too bad, and definitely not something worth Angel’s concern at this point.

“The scar.” She whispered, afraid to ask.

“I have lots of scars Angel, none of them really hurt anymore- “

“No. The one on your face.”

Oh. The brand. The aching mark on his face that burns with a haunting pain. The one that has him turning away from mirrors and closing his eyes when he walks past water. The one that stings in the middle of the night like a bandit was dripping molten metal onto his face and down the crevice that used to be flat. The one that reminds him of a heavy weight on his ankles and shoulders, the weight of Jack on his chest, knees digging in, and the searing heat of the brand as it collided with his face.

Yes, of course it hurt.

“No,” he lied, cocking his head to the side and pretending to be thoughtful “I can hardly feel it anymore”

Angel glared at him. “Really?” She didn’t seem convinced.

“Yes really,” he laughed. “It made him really angry when it wasn’t straight and he flipped out when it wasn’t perfect.”

 _He lost me an eye_ he wanted to scream, but he didn’t want to say that to Angel about her own father. She probably didn’t even know he  _has_  lost an eye, and he wanted it to stay that way.

But Angel snorted at the jab, a deep rumbling snort that gave way to a few giggles, and Tim suddenly didn’t care, because Angel was safe and happy and away from that bastard.

Even if Tim does have his face.

“Tim!” Athena called out, grabbing a bucket with a long funnel and walking towards where Nisha was standing impatiently at the top of a hill. Nisha had her whip out and her hand on her head to stop her hat from flying away in the sudden breeze. She was a stark silhouette, contrasting crisply with the moon behind her.  “We’re just going to get fuel. We won’t be too long. Go sit in the van if you want to wait for us, but don’t stay up until midnight just to prove a point.”

“Sure thing, Athena.” He called over his shoulder, watching them walk away and disappear behind a hill. “Be careful.”

“It’s the creatures that need to be careful!”

He couldn’t argue with that, so he watched her as she trudged along the gritty sand, over the hill.

“I like Athena,” Angel said from beside him, watching them vanish. “She’s like a mum. She’s nice.”

“Really?” Tim asked, receiving a nod in confirmation. “Well, what do you think of Nisha?”

Angel rubbed her eyes as she spoke: “She’s mean sometimes and she scares me, but she’s only like that to protect us, right?”

“You learn fast kid,” he laughed as he stood up and offered his hands out to help her up. She took them and leant down to pick up his jacket, dusting the sand off of it before handing it back. “Now the most important question.”

Angel held his hand as they walked back to the van and hopped in first as he held open the door. “What do you think of me?” he asked as she settled into her seat and he had shut the door behind him.

“I like you too.” She said, looking him in the eyes for the first time that night, but lost her nerve and looked shyly away, blinking. “You’re like a big brother. You’re nothing like him, even though you  _look_  like him.”

Tim felt flattered. “Well, I like you too Angel. I’m glad you think I’m nothing like your dad.”

“Nobody’s like him,” Angel whispered sadly, eyes downcast.

“Listen, Angel,” Tim sighed, putting his arms around her and dragging her closer to him so she could lean against his side. “Your dad- “

“Don’t call him my dad.” Angel’s hands were clenched, leaving half-moon indents in her palms. “Just… don’t.”

Tim could respect that. “Jack was a terrible man, but just because he was your father, doesn’t mean that you’re anything like him, OK?”

“He’s the only family that I’ve ever had.”

“That’s not true.” Tim cried spinning towards her with wide eyes. “What am I then, chopped liver? You just said I was like a brother! Last time I checked, a brother was a family member.”

“Yeah but- “

“And Athena was like a mum?”

“Yeah, but that’s different.”

“And you could argue that Nisha is like a grumpy older sister, right?”

“I guess so.”

“See?” Tim asked, waving his hands in the air and jumping in his seat. “We’re all a family! The 4 of us are a new family. Our little rag-tag family made from bits and bobs and cowboy hats.”

Laughter echoed down from the hill and before they knew it, the top of the van was being smacked and the fuel gate was being opened, followed by the tell-tale glugging of fuel being poured.

Athena got into the driver’s seat grinning and looked into the back seat. “Buckle up,” she laughed “Nisha’s in a good mood. It’s going to be a wild ride.”

Tim and Angel hurriedly put on their seat belts as Nisha whooped and dived into the passenger’s seat. She turned to the two with a maniacal grin. “Tell me something kid.” She cackled to Angel. “Do you like adventure?”

Angel’s awed look and frantic nod was all Nisha needed before she turned back to the front, turned up the radio and shouted: “Let’s go then!”

Angel held on to Tim as they drove, and as he wove his fingers into her hair, thinking of all the experiences his new family would share, he couldn’t help but shout above the roar of the newly-fixed engine and the whistling wind: “This is how the van broke last time!”


End file.
